The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network publishes the World Happiness Report every year on March 20, the International Day of Happiness.
The report uses data from the past two years’ Gallup World Poll surveys, with 149 countries surveyed for this year’s edition. The report’s rankings are based on an assessment of six factors — GDP, life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom and corruption.
According to this year’s report, the leading countries for happiness in the Asia-Pacific region are New Zealand in ninth place overall, Australia in 12th place and Taiwan in 19th place, while Japan ranks 40th, South Korea 50th and China 52nd.
With respect to long-term trends, Taiwan in 2013 ranked a relatively low 42nd, but advanced to 33rd in 2017.
In 2018, it broke into the top 30 by reaching 26th place, and it further improved to 25th in 2019 and 24th last year.
This year, it has braved the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic to advance to 19th place, while maintaining its status as the happiest country in East Asia.
In light of the picture that domestic media present of society, some Taiwanese might not think that life in the nation is particularly happy. Individual perceptions might vary, and should be respected.
Nonetheless, international surveys such as those released by the UN are objective comparisons of countries around the world, and when Taiwan receives such a high rating, one cannot help feeling a “sense of relative advantage.”
Especially those in government deserve to feel a sense of honor, but the opposition parties can also claim a share in what has been achieved under their strong supervision.
As a Taiwanese, the next time someone asks you whether you have been happy in the past few years, you can at least answer with a smile that evidence published under the auspices of the UN shows that Taiwan’s happiness ranks 19th in the world. If we do not feel happy, what about all the people who live in advanced countries that rank below us?
On the other hand, those in government should continue to step gingerly, as if treading on thin ice. They must go on striving to optimize their governance of the nation. That would be the most concrete way for them to respond to the high evaluation that the public has given them.
Tsao Yao-chun is a researcher with the Chinese Association of Public Affairs Management.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Chinese actor Alan Yu (于朦朧) died after allegedly falling from a building in Beijing on Sept. 11. The actor’s mysterious death was tightly censored on Chinese social media, with discussions and doubts about the incident quickly erased. Even Hong Kong artist Daniel Chan’s (陳曉東) post questioning the truth about the case was automatically deleted, sparking concern among overseas Chinese-speaking communities about the dark culture and severe censorship in China’s entertainment industry. Yu had been under house arrest for days, and forced to drink with the rich and powerful before he died, reports said. He lost his life in this vicious
In South Korea, the medical cosmetic industry is fiercely competitive and prices are low, attracting beauty enthusiasts from Taiwan. However, basic medical risks are often overlooked. While sharing a meal with friends recently, I heard one mention that his daughter would be going to South Korea for a cosmetic skincare procedure. I felt a twinge of unease at the time, but seeing as it was just a casual conversation among friends, I simply reminded him to prioritize safety. I never thought that, not long after, I would actually encounter a patient in my clinic with a similar situation. She had
A recent trio of opinion articles in this newspaper reflects the growing anxiety surrounding Washington’s reported request for Taiwan to shift up to 50 percent of its semiconductor production abroad — a process likely to take 10 years, even under the most serious and coordinated effort. Simon H. Tang (湯先鈍) issued a sharp warning (“US trade threatens silicon shield,” Oct. 4, page 8), calling the move a threat to Taiwan’s “silicon shield,” which he argues deters aggression by making Taiwan indispensable. On the same day, Hsiao Hsi-huei (蕭錫惠) (“Responding to US semiconductor policy shift,” Oct. 4, page 8) focused on
George Santayana wrote: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This article will help readers avoid repeating mistakes by examining four examples from the civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forces and the Republic of China (ROC) forces that involved two city sieges and two island invasions. The city sieges compared are Changchun (May to October 1948) and Beiping (November 1948 to January 1949, renamed Beijing after its capture), and attempts to invade Kinmen (October 1949) and Hainan (April 1950). Comparing and contrasting these examples, we can learn how Taiwan may prevent a war with
RSS